Barry: we are raring to go

Barry Fuller believes that AFC Wimbledon are equipped with plenty of talent and experience to keep play-off hopes alive as Neal Ardley’s men prepare for a tough test at Plymouth.

Fuller is one of a crop of Dons players to have sampled that promotion feeling before and he believes that will come in useful during the run-in. In particular, Fuller reckons the loan acquisitions of Darius Charles and Rhys Murphy has given the squad a big boost at a critical time.

Speaking during an interview for Dons Player, Fuller said: “Our aim is to sneak into the back door of the play-offs and then who knows? We have a few players here who have experienced the play-offs before so that could hold us in good stead. The manager has good options up front now. If you look at any one, two or three of the strikers that the manager chooses they are all experienced and have goals in them. We are confident that we have goals in us. I am pretty sure they will all be massive players for us towards the end of this season.

“I had played a lot against Darius during my career and you know what you are going to get with him. He is big, physical, and good in the air. We’ve been unfortunate with injuries to our centre-backs this season, but we have looked solid since Darius joined.”

Fuller is under no illusions that it will be a tough test against automatic promotion chasers Plymouth tomorrow, but he believes the Dons have improved a lot since an opening day defeat against Derek Adams’ side.

“We don’t want to think too far ahead because Plymouth away is a tough game. They have been up there all season and it’s a difficult place to go. We know we have to be ready for Plymouth because we will only get the result we’re looking for if we prepare right.

“Training has been good and positive after last week’s result. The manager has had us working hard all week. It’s not so much about performances now and the result is what counts. If we get both it’s a bonus, but if we win ugly we will take it. We are raring to go and we want to pick-up the three points. At this stage of the season we have to stay focused and roll our sleeves up.

“We have learned a lot about ourselves since the opening day. After the first half an hour they must have been thinking ‘Wimbledon are going to be up there this season’. We dominated it, but we found ourselves behind. There were times when we played teams off the park earlier this season, but came away with nothing. In the latter stages of the season, we have learned to get results when we’ve not been playing as well. We’ve learned that mentality of grinding out results.”

The full interview with Barry Fuller is on Dons Player, along with Neal Ardley’s update ahead of Plymouth.